Replacing worn hand grips

[Meath]

I have heated grips on a 1150GS and it was getting serviced at the BMW garage last week. I asked the guy to replace the grips, he said it's a big job and would cost around €300! He said you have to replace all the wiring, take off the tank to rewire them in. I asked if you can just replace the rubber bits. He said no, the element is in the rubber and the whole wiring has to be replaced.
I can't imagine this to be true, the rubber is worn right through in places and i don't see any wire. It doesn't make any sense to make it so hard to replace a part that gets worn so easily.

So has anyone replaced theirs before? Is it a major job, or can i just do it myself with bog standard grips than any bike shop sells?

 

[Steve]

Piece of piss. The element is NOT in the rubber, but just beneath.

If the rubbers are already split, just peel them CAREFULLY from the grip. If not, make a small slit with a knife, and then split along their length, peeling them off. There may be a small amount of glue, but they come off quite easily.

Replace with a set of £5 grips from your local dealer. The throttle side may need to be shortened slightly so that it doesn't foul the bar-end.

Use liberal amounts of hairspray to lubricate the grip and the new rubbers, and slide into place.

Job done.

 

[Meath]

Nice one, just as i suspected. Funny that the BMW guy didn't know something simple enough like that

 

[Steve]

Nice one, just as i suspected. Funny that the BMW guy didn't know something simple enough like that

In theory you're not supposed to be able to replace them, as they are glued on. But as I said, if you're careful you can peel them off quite easily.

They're hardly likely to tell you you can do it for a fiver if they stand to make 200 quid!!